-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In the 100 years since British army officer T.E. Lawrence traversed Jordan 's desert and the half century since David Lean set out to capture it for his cinematic epic `` Lawrence of Arabia , '' the blood red landscape that entranced both men has scarcely changed .

Still `` vast , echoing and God-like '' -- as Lawrence wrote in his account of his war experiences `` Seven Pillars of Wisdom '' -- the desert 's hidden gems are now accessible to all .

Today , Jordan is one of the Middle East 's safest tourist destinations and plays host to an endlessly varied landscape . Fifty years since the film crews left , following in Lawrence , and later Lean 's , footsteps can still reveal some of Jordan 's finest desert jewels .

Wadi Rum

When Lawrence , as a junior officer , was first sent out into the desert to locate the Hashemite rebels who he would join in revolt against the Ottoman Empire , he found himself in a vast gorge , where red rock monoliths rose more than 800m into the air around thin sand corridors .

He was inspired to write of the granite and sandstone cliffs `` sheering in like a thousand-foot wave towards the middle of the valley . ''

In the south of modern day Jordan , 300km from capital city , Amman , near the border with Saudi Arabia , the landscape appears unchanged from the scenes described by Lawrence -- the same landscape which Lean used as the backdrop for the Englishman 's first encounter with Alec Guinness ' Prince Faisal -- in what is now a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site .

Click on the pindrops above to trace Lawrence of Arabia 's Jordan . All photos courtesy Jordan Tourism Board

The natural wonder remains awe-inspiring , says travel writer Matthew Teller who authored the Rough Guide to Jordan : `` It 's a very evocative place , the sound is echoing off the walls around you , you 're looking up and down this broad desert canyon with sun coming down and the blue sky above . ''

The desert dunes

Lawrence 's masterplan of leading an army across the arid brick-red sand of the desert to launch an attack on the coastal town of Aqaba -- an idea considered so perilous that the Ottomans had not bothered to defend against it -- became his defining act .

Those wishing to follow in Lawrence 's footsteps can take camel treks from Wadi Rum , says tourism expert Yousef Zureqat , who has worked with Jordan 's Dakkak Tours to develop their Lawrence of Arabia adventure trails . More leisurely tourists can explore the wild terrain from the comfort of 4x4s with air conditioning .

The real treat , agree Zureqat and Teller , is connecting with the culture of the Zalabia Bedouin , the descendants of those tribesmen who joined Lawrence in revolt and participated in the filming of Lean 's movie .

Eating lamb cooked slowly in a Zarb -LRB- sand oven -RRB- in the company of the Bedouin , camping out under the stars in black goat hair tents and seeing the sunset `` make the desert come alive , '' says Teller .

Aqaba

At the other edge of the desert lies in the far south of the country , lies Jordan 's tiny Red Sea coast and the coastal fortress which would make Lawrence famous .

In 1917 , this was where Lawrence claimed credit for uniting Bedouin tribes to mount a surprise attack , emerging from the desert to defeat Ottoman forces whose artillery pointed out to sea .

In David Lean 's film , Lawrence lures Anthony Quinn 's mercenary tribal leader Auda Abu Tayi to join the attack with the promise of a `` great box '' of gold in Aqaba .

Since then the fortune of the country 's only sea port has only grown : Aqaba now boasts 5 * luxury seaside resorts , beach hotels and a marine park .

Amid this modern day opulence , the historic 14th century fortress is still there , though damaged by Lawrence 's attack and an earthquake a decade later , and is open to visitors .

Azraq

In `` Seven Pillars of Wisdom , '' Lawrence described the harsh winter of 1917 when -- as he and Faisal prepared to lead their troops north to capture Damascus -- they stopped to rest at the oasis and ancient fort of Azraq .

Far from the path of most tourists , says Teller , the fortress -- including Lawrence 's room above the gateway -- are now guarded by the direct descendants of those who provided refuge to Lawrence and Faisal 's army .

Visitors willing to travel out to `` The Blue Fort '' -- one of a string of desert castles built by the Umayyad Dynasty in the 7th and 8th century -- can experience the `` unfathomable silence '' Lawrence recounts in his book .

While there , visitors can also enjoy the Azraq Wetlands Reserve , established by the Jordanian Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature . Dawn bird watching is popular , says Teller , with migratory birds stopping in the area to drink at the only oasis in 12,000 square kilometers of desert .

Amman

When Lawrence arrived in Jordan in 1916 , Amman was a village , home to the ruins of Roman , Byzantine and Islamic civilizations and a new train station on the Ottoman Hejaz Railway .

By the time he sat down to write his account in `` Seven Pillars of Wisdom , '' the railway was in tatters and Amman was capital of the new Emirate of Transjordan -- both thanks , chiefly , to Faisal and Lawrence 's revolt .

Today , Amman 's sprawling business , technology and financial districts dwarf the old town . But relics of Lawrence 's stay can still be found .

The original railway carriages dating from 1908 still make chartered journeys from Qatrana , 90km to the south , on one of the last surviving stretches of the Hejaz Railway , says Zureqat .

Teller describes an old Ottoman-style building of `` creamy limestone , with tiled floors , a semicircular veranda in a wooded garden on the slope of a hill overlooking downtown Amman . ''

It is now a gallery for contemporary Jordanian and Arab art called Darat al-Funun . But , Teller says : `` This very beautiful old building was -LRB- British Arab Legion Commander -RRB- Frederick Peake 's house , and the story goes that when Lawrence was a guest of Peake in the early twenties , this house was where he wrote some , or all , of ` Seven Pillars of Wisdom . ' ''

The 50th Anniversary 4K Restoration of `` Lawrence of Arabia '' opens in cinemas across the UK on 23 November .

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Many of the key scenes in David Lean 's epic 1962 film `` Lawrence of Arabia '' were filmed in Jordan

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The film celebrates its 50th anniversary this month

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`` The Seven Pillars of Wisdom , '' Lawrence 's account of his wartime experiences in the region form the basis for the film

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Many of the locations described in the book and captured in the film are preserved for visitors today